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Verzauberstadt
Summary Verzauberstadt is a city in the western regions of Reilla on the continent of Rath. Located east of Corstopitum and northeast of Eisenplatz, it is among the oldest cities in Reilla and serves as the center of magic for the region. Geography Verzauberstadt is a city of three parts: the city proper, the lakeholds, and the mage's island. The entire complex is built on and around Chillwater Lake. The lake is large enough to be classified as an inland sea, but the large island in the center can be seen from any shore makes it seem smaller than its actual area would imply. On the island itself, the land slopes upwards from a natural harbor on the western shore to a high rocky plateau on the eastern end. The northern and southern shores have rocky beaches on their western edges, gradually giving way to cliffs on the eastern end of their shores. Both the island and the shore surrounding the lake are spotted with evergreen groves. Overall, the terrain is rough and rocky, with the Frozen Spear Mountains to the north. The main trade road leading to the eastern regions of Reilla (including Jus) lies along the south side of the lake and continues off into the southeast. Other notable features include a diamond mine on the central island and a deep cleft in the Frozen Spear Mountains to the north called the Narbe. City The city proper of Verzauberstadt refers to the traditional lakeside town on the western edge of Clearwater Lake. This section of the city contains the majority of the housing for those whose work relates to supporting the island and has sizable market and artisan districts. While the city itself is ruled by the Tower Council, the day-to-day affairs of the city proper are handled by the mayor. The mayor is appointed by the Tower Council and serves until the Tower Council appoints a replacement. In practice, the Tower Council leaves the city proper to its own devices and seldom intervenes. The lakeholds are essentially self-governing communities. While they nominally report to the mayor, some residents of the lakeholds can go their entire lives without intervention from the city proper, let alone the island. The individual holds have their own network and informal code, mainly revolving around mutual protection, trade, and fishing rights on the lake. Made up of a handful of family groups, the lakeholds' primary occupation is fishing or agriculture. Trade with the city proper is focused on fish, fur, and food. The island itself has a small permanent population of commoners, mostly connected to the small diamond mine just north of the docks on the western edge of the island. The southern part of the island is home to a community of druids, while the northern portion of the island has no permanent settlement. There is an ancient grove and magically sealed ceremonial mound rumored to be a portal to the Feywild, but the mound has resisted all efforts to penetrate its interior. On the northern edge of the island, there is a section of blasted wilderness made of trees turned entirely to stone. Called Gildor's Folly, the mages claim that it was the aftermath of a battle with a rogue demon a millenium ago. Magic The primary inhabitants of Verzauberstadt are the mages in their tower. The Tower is the center for all magical learning in the area, with mages travelling from all over Eona to study under its aegis. The Tower makes no distinction between kinds or uses of magic, so long as practitioners obey the strictures while associated with the Tower. In the early days of the Tower, before the founding of the Verzauberstadt city proper, the mages formed an accord with the druids on the island for mutual support and protection. Ever since, the Circle of Druids has had a hand in the governing of the island's affairs. This unique relationship has, at times, provoked the ire of other Circles or mages, but all involved agree that both parties have benefited greatly from the partnership. The island itself functions as a focus for magic energies and as a result has occasionally fallen under outworld attack. The power of such a focus is a potent lure for demons, devils, and other unsavory types seeking to establish a foothold in Eona. For this reason, the mages and druids long ago began a cooperative work in warding the island. No one outside the Tower Council is quite sure how the warding works, but all Tower mages are under orders to defend the various groves and ancient trees on the island to the utmost of their abilities. At the same time, the druids will defend well-known glyph cairns as strenuously as any of the mages. Notes All magic practitioners that wish to study at the Tower must be admitted by unanimous decision by a group of senior mages. Once admitted, practitioners swear an oath to serve the Tower and obey its strictures for three years and three days. Breaking this oath is deadly, as both the mages and druids will use all their considerable resources to destroy the oathbreaker. Magic functions strangely in the area of Gildor's Folly. Spells are likely to provoke an effect other than the one intended, with the magnitude of the variance in effect directly proportional to the power of the spell. For instance, a simple light spell might simply summon a different color of light than intended, while someone attempting a teleport spell might end up much farther away than they intended. Powerful spells such as translocation circles or summonings are almost certainly fatal, as no one attempting spells of more than moderate power has ever returned to report their experiences. The magically-sealed ceremonial mound is carefully guarded by the druids. Once per year, they all gather to perform some ritual at the site, although reportedly, even at this time no one enters the mound. Inquiries into the mound are strongly discouraged by the druids, and more than one mage has been censured by the Tower Council for continuing to investigate after being warned away by the druids. The mages themselves, however, seem to have no interest in the mound.